


Two Truths and a Lie

by Inkribbon796



Series: Masks and Maladies [80]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Background Relationships, Gen, Light Angst, Magic, My efforts to make Iplier a good doctor, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25053835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796
Summary: Janus is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. He gets injured on a mission, so he goes to ask where one of the heroes’ doctors are. All the whole trying not to show how desperate he is for medical treatment because he’s got a hell of an image to uphold.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: Masks and Maladies [80]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538131
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	Two Truths and a Lie

**Author's Note:**

> This was another suggestions from tumblr from a nice anon:  
> Hello! You don't have to answer this, I just want you to see my suggestion, and that is enough for me! For the Masks and Maladies series, I'd really love to see a scene where a dark side ego is injured, and ends up at the heroes door like, all bleeding and stuff? And they're like, really injured and saying stuff like: "you're suppose to be the good guys right, so can you help me?" Or Something like that idk, again you don't have to answer! It's just something I'd appreciate if u considered...
> 
> Well I wrote this and I hope you guys like it.

Janus knew he was in trouble. Bad trouble. Usually he didn’t physically engage himself in fights, especially outnumbered. The deceitful Side’s illusions and tricks could only do so much and this time he’d gotten unlucky. A combination of too many opponents and Remus getting distracted.

He’d gotten away, scattering his opponents to keep them from chasing after Janus and realizing he was a lot more damaged then he let on. The problem was Dark had all the best doctors and he was in an especially bad mood, snapping even at Wil.

Only a small handful of people could even get within eyesight of Dark lately and survive, so Janus wasn’t too keen on crawling back to Dark and begging for help.

Especially when he probably couldn’t trust it, and it would most likely come with a steep price tag, a favor that Janus knew he wouldn’t like to pay.

Fortunately, the Sides were close and it was likely that at least one of them was in the heroes’ base. He could also check on Virgil, because he knew that Patton and Roman were the worst examples out there.

His lungs burning, and vision hazy, Janus did his best to cast an illusion in front of him that was a little more put together but found it was more painful to hold that illusion so he had to dispel it. It was less than ideal, and he’d have to work a new angle.

To his displeasure, and giving him a migraine on top of everything else, Roman came out first with his sword screaming, wearing his glittery red, white, and gold outfit, “Get back,  _ Jack the Fiber _ , you shall not pass!”

Janus tried not to look like he was going to die on the spot, and desperately hoped he was succeeding. “I want Patton or Logan, are they here?”

Roman seemed a bit taken aback by that, “Why? I’m the fairest prince of them all. I’m more than a worthy adversary.”

“If I wanted to be screamed at and attacked by a man-child I would have stayed at home,” Janus spat, before something stressed inside of him just seemed to slip free. Janus doubled over, hitting the ground and started coughing. Most of it was clear spit or exhaled air, but there were flecks of blood in the mix.

“What’s going on out here?” Patton yelled as he ran out, fixing his own mask as he ran out.

Logan was following at a slower pace, clearly observing what was going on. “Deceit, you are injured.”

Janus was pretty sure his pride and dignity were taking a hit to the ankles, as Janus forced himself to stand, “You three are supposed to be the good guys right? So can you help me?”

“I,” Patton started, taking a step forward, “of course we—”

“If any of us want to be Thomas again, then you need me,” Janus coughed up a bit of blood again, Logan pushed Roman a little bit so he could stand in front of him. “You need all of us.”

“We don’t—” Roman sputtered, in nervous disbelief.

Janus missed the rest of Roman’s rebutted because the world was starting to spin and he found himself on the ground. Someone was yelling but Janus was slipping into unconsciousness.

Janus slowly came back to, feeling like he was floating. He woke up feeling too cold on one side of his body and too warm on the other.

There was a beeping that should have caused him an instant migraine, but thanks to whatever was making him lightheaded, made it so Janus wasn’t suffering from one.

Feeling like a weight had been tied to every limb of his body, Janus opened his eyes. His brain was hazy but he knew he was in some type of hospital room. “Ugh,” Janus felt a terrible taste in his mouth.

“Deceit?” Someone said and Janus would have jumped if he had enough of his faculties. He did look to see that Dr. Iplier standing in the room, he was looking over something. “You awake this time?”

“If I say no, will you go away,” Janus complained.

Dr. Iplier chuckled, “Nope, and if you insist on being my worst patient, I’ll remind you I treated the Duke once.”

“I was there,” Janus tried his best to control what he said. Now that he wasn’t dying he was trying to do everything he could to redeem the tattered remains of the fact he was trying to be a dangerous member of the League of Villains that had ruined lives, brought the high and mighty to their knees, instead of lying half-dead on one of the heroes’ hospital beds.

“Well, you all have such freakish biology, you’ll probably be ready to leave in about an hour,” Iplier smiled.

“I’d appreciate feeling more of my faculties,” Janus complained, gesturing to the IV.

The doctor looked more than a bit uneasy, “I can dial back the dosage, but you were still shot and stabbed several times. Do you have super endurance?”

“I prefer thinking, if I wanted to get high, I’d ask Remus,” Janus barely kept himself from laughing for no reason, he blamed the drugs.

“Right, I’ll get Logic, he wanted to talk to you when you woke up,” Iplier warned. Then he went quiet for a little bit, giving Janus time to refuse or object.

Janus rolled his eyes, “I don’t wanna be high.”

The doctor chuckled, “I’ll let him know, the next dose will be in twenty minutes.”

The deceitful Side got another short nap and after fixing his morphine dosage so that he could still think and plan, Iplier brought Logan in. Janus’s body ached and hurt, but he could think, and he was instantly suspicious when he saw Logan wasn’t in costume.

Taking a short, sweeping glance of Janus, the logical Side took a deep breath, “It’s not every day—”

Logan was instantly cut off when Remus ran in, screeching like a banshee, shoving Logan to the side.

“Dee,” Remus screeched, rushing over to Janus’s bedside in tears. “Who hurt you my scaly sweetheart?”

“Someone slap him, I can’t feel my arms,” Janus ordered.

“One injured Side is enough,” Logan refuted, walking over.

Janus fought the urge to tell Remus to jump out the nearest window, but Remus was the only ally he had. “Doctor, am I able to leave?”

“I’d prefer keeping you until I can verify you aren’t bleeding internally,” Iplier looked worried and Janus had an even stronger urge to leave. His inherent suspicion made it hard to trust anyone, even Iplier who was almost harmless.

“Oh yes, I’d love to get arrested,” Janus warned dryly.

Remus summoned up his mace out of thin air, “Try it.”

Janus felt his more human eye twitch, “Don’t— Don’t get me into another fight and then leave me to clean up your mess again.”

“I was fending off a hundred men, and would have come to your rescue if I’d known you were injured.” Remus looked insulted.

“A gross exaggeration, I’m sure,” Logan commented.

Remus made an insulated huff, “Lying’s not my job, dork.”

“Which would explain why you’re so terrible at it,” Logan didn’t rise to the bait of name calling. “I do have to talk with Deceit, Doctor, we should be alright.”

“Depends on  _ my _ patient,” Iplier reminded sharply, the Doctor was watching Janus carefully.

Janus was already inclining his bed up, batting Remus away lightly because he didn’t quite have the strength to push him away like he normally did. “I’ll be fine, Logan is harmless.”

That mentally tripped the Doctor up, but he nodded, “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

Only after Iplier left, did Logan pull a chair up. “Why not go to Dark, he has perfectly adequate doctors?”

“Because yours were closer, and you were easy to manipulate,” Deceit lied with the ease that normally came to him.

“That cannot possibly be the case,” Logan refuted, “you had no reason to believe they were even in the base, it was far more likely that they were at the hospital and help would not have come in time. It would have been far less risky to contact Dark or one of your other contacts.”

Janus did his best to look like it was all part of a grand plan, “Yes well, it all worked like a charm.”

Logan looked like his head was about to explode, “You’re allied to a dangerous person who could kill you as easily he could file his own taxes.”

“How do you know he files his own taxes?” Remus cackled. “Are you dating him or something?”

“Don’t be absurd,” Logan huffed in distaste. “I’d rather literally stick my hand into a meat grinder.”

“Oh! Oh! Teach, I can help with that!” Remus rose his hand and waved his hand like an overexcited five-year-old. Janus rolled his eyes, unable to stop himself from smiling.

“I might oblige you if that choice is ever forced upon me,” Logan refused, looking back at. “If you do not trust Dark, then I fail to see why you trust him enough to work with him.”

Janus felt especially angry at that statement, “And what would you have me do, oh logical one? I may be the Lord of the Lies, but Patton’s particular breed of lies are especially ugly and undesirable. That type of thinking doesn’t serve me, and when Thomas becomes whole again you can bet that Patton won’t be in control of anything.”

Logan’s eyes became especially steely, “While Patton is prone to his hysterics, so are you. There are many accurate and important observations you bring to our discussions, but Thomas deserves a well-rounded psyche. It is something all of us should strive for.”

“Thomas deserves the world!” Janus shouted angrily. “He deserved to live for himself and why didn’t he?”

“There were many reasons,” Logan began.

“Patton,” Deceit spat. “Patton holds Roman back, and he is doing the same to Virgil.”

Logan frowned, “And that. is where we differ. You said it yourself that all of Thomas’s pieces are necessary, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.”

Janus glared at him, “And yet, I have the distinct impression that if Thomas was here, you and him would be singing a different tune.”

“I’m much better at rapping actually,” Logan commented.

“That’s not what I meant,” Janus reminded sharply, throwing the thin cover off and looking at the needle stuck in his arm. “Tell your doctor I’m done.”

“You should stay,” Logan warned

“To get arrested in my sleep, how long do you think I’ve been playing these games?” Janus reminded angrily. “Doctor!”

Iplier walked back in, eyeing Logan suspiciously, “What happened?”

“I want to be discharged,” Janus ordered. “Take the needle out.”

The doctor glared at Logan, “Are you trying to kill my patient?”

“Nonsense, I have done nothing,” Logan defended.

“I was brutally assaulted,” Janus smiled smugly.

“You are a known criminal and a pathological liar, this room also has recording equipment,” Logan reminded. “I suggest you wait to make your escape until after you don’t need morphine, I’ve already arranged for various books to be brought in to keep you entertained during your stay.”

Janus still looked a little upset, but he hummed and finally said, “I want full access to every episode of Scooby Doo ever made and the ability to play the worst ones when you are on guard duty.”

“Why?” Logan groaned. “Fine if it keeps you from dying from tearing your stitches.”

“If I’m miserable then I’ll make it everyone else’s problem,” Janus promised.

“Aren’t you just so caring,” Janus smiled, and Logan excused him, leaving Janus with the doctor and regardless of the doctor or Logan’s insistence plans to break out that night.

All he had to do was figure out shift changes.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when Thomas isn’t around to play mediator: angst.


End file.
